New Goals for Teacher Evaluation

Kathy Checkley

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Professional Learning Leadership

Mary Ann Dominguez is preparing to be evaluated. Like many teachers, she has mixed feelings. But unlike teachers who dread the evaluation process, Dominguez wishes it happened more often—even once a month, like a book discussion group.

As one of five teachers at Vine Hill Elementary in Scotts Valley, Calif., who have opted for an evaluation process known as collaborative peer review, Dominguez sets her own evaluation agenda. "We choose an area of our instructional practice on which we want to gather more information about ourselves," she explains. "And we take responsibility for defining the observation process. We decide what we want our peers to look for in our teaching."

Because the Scotts Valley district has adopted a new language arts text this year, Dominguez and her peers have agreed to evaluate one another on how well they use the new text to help students—especially their struggling students—reach benchmarks in skills such as phonetic awareness.

Their three-part evaluation process is similar to clinical supervision in that observations are sandwiched between pre- and postobservation conferences. But in this case, the principal, Kathy Dunton, does not take a formal role. "I'm in a support role," Dunton explains. She facilitates the process by hiring substitutes so that her teachers can observe one another. Also, she monitors the process to ensure that it contributes to the teachers' professional growth. Though Dunton carefully reviews the teachers' documentation, she doesn't always sit in on all three parts of the process. "The collaborative model relieves me of a lot of pressure," she says.

As Dominguez and her peers conduct their postobservation conferences, the object is self-reflection. "The one doing the observing is not the main communicator," says Dominguez. It is the observed teacher's responsibility to reflect on her practice, identifying her own strengths and areas for improvement. "But what's so empowering about this is that we're all working on it together. We feel a sense of community." Indeed, one of Dominguez's teaching peers wrote in her own evaluation report that "peer evaluation has deepened my work as a team player."

Although collaborative peer review certainly takes more time than traditional evaluations, Principal Dunton feels confident that time spent on collaboration pays off. "Teachers don't have time to learn everything on their own or through trial and error," she observes. "But by working together and knowing what standards we have, their observations are keener—both in the way they look at students and how they deliver instruction. They get a clearer idea of what works and what doesn't." A collaborative support system makes a teacher's work easier, maintains Dunton, who insists that "to survive and feel like you're working as a professional, the collegial model is essential."

Expert Opinions

Professional Development. "Teacher evaluation is at the heart of a school's professional development," states Thomas McGreal. Having consulted with nearly a thousand school districts on teacher evaluation over the past 20 years, McGreal says that the purpose of evaluation should be to help teachers get better at what they do."There's really not much benefit in teacher evaluation that just gives teachers a stamp of approval based on a rating scale," asserts McGreal. Disdainful of most rating scales, he sees them as having been developed by school boards whose members have shaped their ideas about evaluation in noneducational settings such as business. "These people think that evaluation ought to be more measurable than it actually is, and so they come up with rating scales—which are not really objective at all," says McGreal. "Most scales can only identify the one teacher in 400 who is not performing well enough to stay in teaching."McGreal holds that respecting adults as professionals (something for which rating scales are not especially useful) should be a focus of evaluations. "Most districts don't take enough time to understand this," he laments. "Instead, they focus on physical improvements, standards, rubrics—things that don't get at the heart of the matter because they leave out the teachers. The important thing is to get teachers actively involved in setting the agenda," McGreal says.Now that many state departments of education are giving local schools more authority to design their own evaluation systems, McGreal is optimistic about the possibilities for more helpful approaches. He recommends that principals and teachers work together or in teams to design professional development plans as alternatives to traditional evaluations. "It's like writing IEPs for teachers," explains McGreal. These plans may include participating in action research projects and peer coaching activities, developing individual or team portfolios, mentoring beginning teachers, developing videotapes of model lessons, or participating in study groups, problem-based groups, or subject-matter or grade-level teacher networks.
Contextual Power. "The most powerful teacher evaluations are context driven," affirms Carl Glickman, noted researcher on school improvement. By context driven he means that teacher evaluation should relate directly to what the school expects the students to be able to do. If evaluation lies outside the context of common school values, teachers become isolated from one another, Glickman observes. "Schools lose a lot of power this way." He points out that much teacher evaluation is vertical—a compliance evaluation between the teacher and the principal that lacks focus on the school's goals and values. Evaluation becomes more horizontal through collective participation in defining the school's vision, Glickman says. "When a teaching staff makes a commitment to the school's core values, this is what we call the covenant of good education."Robert Garmston, another noted researcher, agrees that focusing on individual teachers is too narrow an approach to evaluation. He claims that excellent teachers working in isolation can't improve student learning as much as teachers working collectively to create professional communities. "The largest gains in student learning," he says, "come from a collective responsibility among teachers."One of the best ways to get teachers working together is to open up ways for them to watch each other teach, says Garmston. "The energy to activate improvement in schools comes from teachers working together—planning, watching, talking about student work and real students, focusing on learning rather than on teaching."
Reciprocal Learning. "The process of teacher evaluation should begin with the agreement that one instrument doesn't fit all practice," advises Billie Enz, director of Initial Teacher Certification and Induction Programs at Arizona State University. "It's not fair to be evaluated according to the Hunter Model of direct instruction when you're doing inquiry-based instruction," she points out. "A principal who doesn't understand the inquiry approach will only see a noisy, messy classroom, even though the kids are really getting into learning."Enz says that when a principal initiates an evaluation by stating, "This is what I understand is good instruction," that principal may be overlooking the possibilities for reciprocal learning between teachers and principals. "Few principals want to admit that they don't know what inquiry-based instruction means," says Enz, noting that schools tend to acquire their own site-based definitions of terms and practices. "This is why teachers and principals need to discuss meanings with each other and agree on common definitions" well ahead of evaluations, Enz cautions. She believes the pre-evaluation process is more meaningful than the product itself because "it emphasizes evaluation as a participation activity for everyone. Evaluation shouldn't be a trade secret for principals."
A Culture of Professionalism. When Curtis Schnorr became principal of Friendship Valley Elementary School in Carroll County, Md., seven years ago, he inherited an experienced staff. "We wanted to get away from the sit-and-chat evaluation format where we filled out a checklist," he remembers. "We wanted a culture that valued professionalism. It's hard to do that with a checklist." The culture that Schnorr and his teachers envisioned for Friendship Valley grew out of interpersonal relationships nurtured by lots of dialogue and collegiality. Like Vine Hill, Friendship Valley uses a three-part evaluation process they call cognitive coaching. "Without question this process takes longer, but we value the dialogue," states Schnorr. He sees the coaching process as one of the school's energy sources. "Our dialogues are intended to promote self-discovery," he explains. "No way do I try to be the all-knowing sage. I learn as much as they do." Since Schnorr became principal, Friendship Valley's overall achievement has increased more than 25 points on Maryland's cumulative index. "I think administrators don't realize the extent to which student thinking and achievement are directly influenced by a school's culture," Schnorr remarks. Building a school culture that values effective evaluation doesn't happen overnight, Garmston says. He views restructuring as the lowest level of intervention, characterized by rubrics and standards. "The highest level of intervention is found in redefining values, vision, and ideals—what we call reculturing. It is much harder to reculture a school than it is to restructure one, but reculturing is what has the power to change a system the most," he says. Garmston maintains that research increasingly bears out the fact that a shared vision has the power to change people's notions of teacher evaluation. Only then do educators let go of old ideas and embrace a new vision. To begin the process, Garmston recommends that school leaders repeatedly ask themselves and their staff members these three questions:

1. Who are we? (What are our values and identity?)
2. Why are we doing this? (What is the current reason—not yesterday's reason?)
3. Why are we doing it this way? (Whose needs are being served?)

Garmston points out that our best work may be blocked by old mental models. "Good leaders," he says, "help people overcome their resistance to new mental models."

Self-Evaluation. The trend in teacher evaluation is toward more self-evaluation and expanding one's teaching repertoire, observes Art Costa, another expert on school improvement. "This is because we are now focusing on the effects of what teachers do rather than focusing only on teaching methods," he explains. Costa points out that a strict compliance with some of the rigid evaluation prescriptions of the past has been known to have negative effects on student achievement.The good news, according to Garmston, is that new views on teacher evaluation are growing. He recommends that schools rely less on outside experts, workshops, and inspirational speakers, and focus their efforts instead on building collegiality through coaching and supervision partnerships. Taking this approach, he says, is like finding buried treasure in your own backyard.

Teacher Portfolios: Tools for Successful Evaluations

One alternative to traditional teacher evaluation practices that is gathering momentum is the use of teacher portfolios. Giselle Martin-Kniep, a consultant with eight years of experience with teacher portfolios, has developed some fundamental beliefs about what makes a portfolio successful.

Most important, have a clear agenda, Martin-Kniep advises. The teacher must have a firm idea of what the portfolio is meant to document. The clearer the agenda is to the teacher, the easier it is to select "artifacts"—items to include in the portfolio—that will best serve that agenda. That clarity of purpose also comes through to the evaluator.

Efforts—the teacher's attempts. The portfolio may include a unit the teacher wrote, including drafts to show the stages of development.
Progress—where the teacher has come from and where he is now. The portfolio should include some convincing evidence that the teacher has grown, that he's not static.
Achievement—what the teacher has accomplished. The portfolio should include samples of the teacher's best work in several areas.

Some of the best portfolios Martin-Kniep has encountered have included "interlocking" artifacts that demonstrate the teacher's efforts, progress, and achievement. For example, a portfolio might include a written statement of the teacher's philosophy, a curriculum unit that reflects that philosophy, and an assessment designed for the unit. This interconnectedness allows the evaluator to see the whole teacher, not just pieces of the whole.

Teachers themselves should select the artifacts to include in the portfolio, Martin-Kniep emphasizes. Although easily overlooked, this factor can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful portfolios. For evaluation purposes, it is best to have guidelines for what the artifacts should demonstrate (e.g., the teacher's pedagogical knowledge, organization and management skills, and communication skills), but teachers should be able to choose the artifacts that they feel best demonstrate those qualities and skills.

When portfolios are used for teacher evaluation, the evaluator typically uses assessment rubrics. Teacher participation in the creation of these rubrics is often overlooked or undervalued, Martin-Kniep suggests. At the very least, she says, teachers should be allowed to become familiar with the rubrics so they know how they're being assessed. In her ideal arrangement, Martin-Kniep would have teachers look over the rubrics before their evaluation, provide feedback, and add things to the rubrics if necessary or appropriate. This kind of teacher interaction helps establish a line of open communication between teacher and evaluator, which leads to the kind of situation Martin-Kniep feels is ideal: The portfolio is not only an evaluation tool but also a tool for personal and professional growth.

Order in the Classroom: A Disciplined Approach to Teacher Observations

If children are to succeed, they must have discipline and consistency, claims Lorraine Monroe. The same, she adds, is true for teachers. At well-organized schools, where all teachers understand and adopt the same specific classroom management techniques, "teachers stay on task." And the result, she says, is improved student learning.

Monroe, famous for having wrought order from chaos at a high school in New York City, shared these insights with members of ASCD's Urban Professional Development Institute, who recently gathered at ASCD headquarters for a four-day retreat. Monroe now directs the School Leadership Academy (SLA) and maintains that it's the job of school leaders to establish some basic classroom management and instructional approaches—and to ensure that teachers use those methods.

Principals should require teachers to post three things on the blackboard each day, Monroe advises: the homework assignment, warm-up activities that students should begin working on as soon as they enter the classroom, and the learning objectives for that day's lesson. This SLA Recommended Blackboard Configuration not only helps teachers and students stay focused but also provides leaders with a management tool "that makes daily observations possible and meaningful," says Monroe.

School leaders should then make sure that they "get into every classroom in September" to conduct informal observations. This practice, Monroe states, conveys to teachers that the principal is interested and intends to be involved. Monroe suggests that leaders devise an informal form that helps them assess how well teachers have integrated the blackboard configuration into their teaching. The form should include a place where leaders can offer "constructive feedback, as well as praise."

If school leaders begin observing teachers early in the year, it's much easier to conduct more formal observations later, for reasons that are fairly obvious, Monroe maintains. First, leaders have established a relationship with the teachers, she notes. And second, by the time the formal observations are scheduled, teachers will have already been coached on how to improve instruction, and the evaluation can focus on the positive changes a teacher may have made.

Observing teachers early and consistently throughout the year also gives leaders the ammunition they need to "get rid of poor performers," says Monroe. School leaders should first try to work with problem teachers but then should terminate their employment if they can't—or won't—adopt the school's philosophy and approaches. "It's therapeutic for a school when poor performers are asked to leave," Monroe states. "Good teachers perform even better when they know it matters to the administration."